Laurie Dove is a do-er. She likes to keep busy. Alongside writing for numerous places like CNN, Animal Planet, the LA Business Journal, and many more, Laurie was elected local Mayor back in 2015, has a Masters Degree from Harvard, and has just published 'Mask of the Deer Woman'.

It tells the story of Carrie Starr. Once a detective in Chicago, Carrie has hit rock-bottom after a personal tragedy and returned to the reservation in which she grew up to be their local Marshal. When a college student goes missing, Carrie must wrestle with the reasons why her own daughter disappeared.

We discuss why Laurie has found time to write for pleasure when she makes money writing for other people, also how she dealt with the ambiguity of magical realism, and why she likes to sneak up on the story. You can hear how fiction comes from character, how hard it is to find an organic ending to the first novel in a series, and why the only way to find out how to write novels... is to write novels.

This week's episode is sponsored by the 'Charley Scott Mysteries', by Vanessa Westermann. To find out more about these feel-good thrillers set in the stunning Canadian countryside, head here - www.vanessa-westermann.info/

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